“TV in Jail” – Derrick J from Jail (Day 15 part 3)

Subject – TV in Jail
I don’t watch TV. But when I do, I watch Free Keene TV. This comes on for half an hour once a week. Most people in here watch TV every day for hours. Tonight, I asked the group of drooping zombies if they were watching the fishing show on Animal Planet. No answer. I asked again standing below the two TV screens. No answer. So I asked the officed to please change the channel to channel 8, since it’s 7:00 PM on Monday, that’s the 30 minutes of TV I watch 30 minutes a week. About halfway into the show, one guy with a lot of seniority around here asks “whats the show on the left?”

I answer him “It’s Free Keene TV”. He stares forward.

About a minute later, he and another boy (who happens to always be burning with rage about one thing or another) storm up the stairs and yell to those below:
“I love how we all took a vote on what to watch on the TV on the left. It’s not like my 9 months here make any difference or anything. Good Job!” Then he slammed his door and turned off his light, closing himself off to the world.

Wow. Not being a TV watcher, I’ve grown sick of the Beavis and Butthead style huhuhuhuhuhuh’s that I hear constantly emanating from the TV’s. Today, for a half hour, 6 guys in the jail watched a show they never would’ve seen otherwise. They learned about market law enforcement from Robert Murphy. They saw criticism of the Free Keene movement, including criticism of my activism and antics. They sat silent, soaking it in. But they didn’t all get up and do push ups. Some did that some some guys saw something totally new that interested and stimulated their imaginations in ways mainstream TV never will.

Thank you JJ, Ali, John Ray, Nemi Jones, David Crawford and all who make Free Keene TV happen each week. Your reach is always further than you know.
Cheers =)